This seems to be a common theme lately from multiple posters.
My dad does not even live with me, he is in AL, but my first response to a barrage of missed calls is to get aggrevated now. I'll trying to let them go to voicemail, etc., but trying to reduce that behavior as much as I can.
A few months ago I would feel bad. Now I feel aggrevated.
Some other posters recently were posting about getting aggrevated while they are living with/caring for a LO. What should be the first step? The easy thought is to step back, but we feel we are needed and "stuck" in our roles and can't step back right away, or somehow it just is not happening.
I did everything she wanted (almost) the WAY she wanted it done, and she had no regard for how deeply it was hurting my health and my life. I was seething with resentment, and would have been a better daughter had I not been coerced into the primary caregiver role.
I saw your other post. I wouldn't go as far as to have your dad assigned a state appointed guardian. I would, however, cut back on the frequency, and more importantly, the lengths of your visits. Then as far as the "management" goes, I would set a weekly time frame, say one afternoon a week to make all of dad's appointments, pay bills, make calls, do banking, etc. Then everything that comes up on other days gets postponed until the scheduled day.
Just some suggestions from someone who's done it, and wished she had done it differently. Good luck.
Be a bit more easy on yourself. Let the emotion come and then get over it.
You intellectually have an excellent grasp here on the fact you are dealing with dementia in a difficult senior, strugglin. On a good day you can perhaps look at that pile of messages sitting there like a steaming pile of dog doo, and giggle, shrug, and move on. On a bad day, a hard day, a day you are grieving that it has come to this and will not likely ever be better until he is gone----on that day you will either break down in tears or be furious. And that's just a normal human reaction.
Don't expect to be godlike; that's hubris of a kind. Don't expect to be a Saint. As I always say that's a real nasty job description.
Just know you;re not alone.
The few times I had words with my wonderful bro, in the depths of his agony from Lewy's, hurt me still. Once I responded to this gentle man with anger and he said sadly to me "Well, I can show you all my beautiful letters and notes from my little sister telling me how wonderful I am; what about all those? Did you not mean it?"
We had so few bad moments together, and so many of laughter and honesty and grief. But those few moments hurt me still, and I think the tough part, when we try to be good people, is in a single moment of failure. That's us not being fair to ourselves.
Be fair to yourself, S. To the extent you are able. We decent people in this world are our own worst critics.
Be available only for the emergencies if that’s all you can do.
I went back and forth too , feeling guilty , aggravated , sad , bad , feeling like I should visit more blah blah blah etc.
Acknowledge that it sucks and can’t be fixed . No matter what you do your Dad is going to be how he is.
Accept your own limitations to deal with it. I looked after both my parents for 10 years , before they both passed , one had dementia. That was enough for me .
I even lost patience last year with my own DH when he had surgery.
Then when my FIL got dementia my DH and I burned out within a year of him driving us crazy . The last 6 months my DH only visited him once a week , sometimes less . DH burned out and got aggravated easily over every little ridiculous thing all day long some days even if it had nothing to do with his father . FIL has passed on 3 months ago and now we are facing another similar sh*t show with my MIL.
I wish I had a better answer . Between my narc mother with dementia and my very entitled FIL with dementia , 12 out of the last 15 years of this has done us in.
One day it will end, then you are left with the chore to reconcile it all in your head and hopefully find peace again .
Everyone always says, take care of yourself , see friends do hobbies etc.
It can be difficult to do when you are burned out and feel stuck in this never ending loop of dealing with these difficult situations.
When I would go to a facility I would envy and feel guilt when seeing the families that looked like they were genuinely enjoying their visit with their LO.
I hope you find some peace strugglinson. In the meantime , it’s ok to get mad and aggravated , let it out. I used to ocassionally purposefully take things out to my garage and smash them .
I’m still working on reconciling it all in my head and finding peace
You'll step back when the aggravation and resentment reach a point that it's affecting your wellbeing and your health. You can't fix any of this and once you realize dad's being cared for and is safe, it WILL happen. Not that the aggravation will end when the non stop calls come in......it likely won't. But dementia reaches a point (normally) where the elder forgets how to use the phone and the calls stop. The key is figuring out how to take care of YOURSELF in the meantime. Shut your phone off at night, for one. Allow yourself to sleep in peace. That's a good start.
Very good point. I need to change the narrative from "yes you can call me with anything emergency" to "dad I need to sleep and have my phone off at night. Anything at night , you have to call the AL staff and you will be ok. THey or you can fill me in in the morning". .... I think I just have to switch to that message now
Anyway, we removed the phone, we now call at the nurses station if we need to talk to her, really don't call as she does not know who she is talking to nor does she understand what we are saying.
If there is an emergency the facility calls us. She has no need for a phone.
I am one of those people who do not overthink everything, I do what feels right one can make themselves crazy worrying about every little thing when it comes to dealing with someone with dementia, as there is no rhyme or reason.
Well, if he's mad at me for not answering at 1AM or at work, fine.. good!
I'm at that point now. I 'm not going to feel bad about it. If a narc is mad at you, perhaps thats a good thing!
Sometimes you have to make up stuff .
The more it goes over their head , the better it works .
It may have been six months for your father in the AL. It's possible that he's doing very well. The complaining, ranting, emergencies and other nonsense behavior may be reserved exclusively for you. It could very well be that he's fine around anyone else.
This behavior is so common too. On this thread I mention a friend of mine who solved the problem with her mother carrying on night and day by getting a second cellphone.
Her mother is fine in AL. She has friends and goes to all the activities and does very well. Her ranting, threats, complaining, and demanding to go home is only for her daughter. This could also be the case with your father.
After we moved my mom, age 88 to Independent Living, because everything in her life had become an emergency, I was shopping with her at Bed Bath and Beyond. Where she regularly used 10 coupons for purchases of 10 items. I digress.
Mom needed cortisone cream. We went to the aisle where that product what kept. Mind you, this is the woman who taught me to read labels and see what percentages were in products.
She picked up a package and showed it to me. I said "mom, that doesn't have cortisone in it". "But it says 'anti itch creme', she said.
In a flash, I got that my mom was no longer there person she had been, and that she needed something different from me.
I stopped expecting logic; I started giving simple reasons for things. I adjusted my narrative away from truth and logic to "what does she need to know" and "can she use/comprehend this?".
I think you need a paradigm shift away from your former relationship with your dad.
Change the conversation or just tell him to use his call bell and say goodbye and hang up, or leave his facility during a visit . You have to run the conversation , not Dad. Like running a meeting at work, you decide the topics and when it ends . I used to point blank at times say “ I’m not discussing that “.
I can't tell you how many times I've said "I'm not discussing that anymore". It's what you have to do. Even when someone is in a dementia loop. Answering them over and over again doesn't help break them out of it. Ignoring the topic does.
You're spot on about running the conversation and controlling it. That's the only way.
You have to learn how to compartmentalize. This is how people in certain professions like medicine, the care field, the military, and police work are able to cope with their jobs without the stress of them spilling over into the other parts of their lives. But even the best of us have to back away and stop.
No one in this world is perfect and no one has an unlimited supply of patience though. Your feelings of aggravation towards your father is more common than you think. It's called burnout. Myself personally, I cannot ever take care of another elderly person. My patience level for any dementia-related or old-age related behaviors or conditions is zero. That's because I was a caregiver to elderly people and my own abusive mother for 25 years.
You are correct is taking a big step back from your situation. Your father is in AL. They are paid to care for him and handle the "emergency" nonsense. It's their job, not yours.
You could also change your phone number so your father can't call you or leave anymore messages. Then give the new number to the AL administrator so they can call you if needs be. If yyou want to talk to your father on the phone, call the facility and have someone get him.
I have a friend (also a homecare worker) who placed her mother in an AL. She solved the problem of the constant phone calls, "emergencies" and threatening voicemails night and day about what her mother would do if she didn't pick up, very simply.
She got another another phone. She kept the old phone and number active and it was used only for her mother. So all the "emergencies" all hours of the night, the nonsense rants, and the threatening voicemails of what her mom was going to do if she didn't pick up immediately she could ignore and did.
Sometimes she'd listen to a couple and if she wanted to she'd respond. It didn't even cost her much to have the second phone. It's something worth considering. It's been working for my friend for a few years now.
Please for your own sake, take that step back from your father and let nothing force you to step in again. This is what's best for both of you.
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